Illinois sheriff helping people find opioid antidote drug

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CHICAGO (AP) — An Illinois sheriff is launching an email helpline to help people find an antidote drug used to revive opioid overdose victims.

In a news release on Wednesday, Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart’s office also says it’s releasing the second installment of the Sheriff’s Awareness Initiative video series on the opioid crisis.

Dart’s office says the public can learn how to obtain free naloxone by sending an email to Opioid.Help@CookCountyIL.Gov . The release says Dart’s office will work with sources of naloxone to distribute the naloxone to those who need it.

The helpline is part of a larger effort by Dart’s office public health professionals to react to the opioid crisis. That effort includes a program in which naloxone is distributed to at-risk detainees when they’re release from custody.